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B.C. highways reopen after snow, avalanche risk force closures

The Coquihalla Highway between Hope and Merritt was cleared for traffic Wednesday afternoon

Avalanche warnings are posted on Seymour Mountain in North Vancouver on January 8, 2013. This is near the snow shoeing area.

Photograph by: Wayne Leidenfrost
, PNG

After two days of heavy snow and the threat of avalanches that created havoc on B.C. highways, the weather eased up for a period Wednesday, although more snow was in the forecast.

Environment Canada issued a snowfall warning for the Columbia District, including Yoho Park and Kootenay Park, predicting up to five more centimetres Wednesday night.

“It’s definitely winter conditions, so people should drive carefully,” said Mike Lorimer, regional director for the southern interior region, ministry of highways and infrastructure, Wednesday afternoon.

A high avalanche risk and heavy snowfall in B.C. forced officials to close several major sections of highways in the province earlier in the day and the potential for freezing rain in the east Kootenays had some areas under travel advisory even as roads reopened.

Travellers were advised to use caution in several parts of the province, including on Highway 16 in northwest B.C., where black ice made driving conditions treacherous.

Travel advisories were also in effect on Highway 93 and 95 in the east Kootenays with temperatures there conducive to freezing rain.

The Coquihalla Highway between Hope and Merritt was closed for about 12 hours after parts of the route received 75 centimetres of snow since Tuesday, according to VSA Highway Maintenance.

Highway 1 was closed from Jackass Mountain Summit to Spences Bridge because of heavy snowfall, while sections of the Trans-Canada Highway were closed at Glacier National Park.

Highway 3 was closed from Hope to Allison Pass and west of Kootenay Pass, while Highway 31, north of Trout Lake near Revelstoke, was also closed due to avalanche hazards.

Highways 1, 3 and 5 were all open by Wednesday afternoon, Lorimer said.

“It was the same storm system that hit all (highway) sections,” he said. “It was really heavy snow and the areas affected were all a short distance from Hope.”

On Tuesday night, after crews closed the Coquihalla to traffic, a natural avalanche hit and covered the southbound lanes near the old toll booth, added Lorimer.

“This storm is definitely on the big end of things.”

Meanwhile, the Canadian Avalanche Centre warned people in many areas of the province to exercise extreme caution if they’re heading out into the backcountry because of a high avalanche risk.

In the Whistler backcountry and south coast mountains, the avalanche rating was upgraded Wednesday to high from moderate. A high rating means very dangerous avalanche conditions. Travel in avalanche terrain is not recommended.

The avalanche risk is also listed as high in Yoho and Banff national parks and all across the lower half of the province, from the South Coast to the North Columbia region, after a fierce winter storm that dumped at least 20 centimetres of snow on southern B.C. mountains.

On Tuesday, rescuers were kept busy around the province helping backcountry enthusiasts who had gone out of bounds.

Four skiers on Mount Washington were caught in a minor avalanche in the backcountry of Strathcona Provincial Park.

RCMP spokesman Cpl. Darren Lagan said only one person suffered a minor injury. He said rescue crews were called out after one of the skiers called for help on a mobile phone.

Meanwhile, a mine rescue team and an RCMP dog team rescued a missing Alberta man in metre-deep snow in northeast B.C. Tuesday.

RCMP said the 54-year-old man, who suffers from a condition that requires medical treatment, was reported missing by his family on Monday.

The next day, an abandoned vehicle the man was driving was found on a road near Tumbler Ridge, and a search was launched by the Mounties with a police dog and members of the Peace River Coal Mine Rescue team.

The man was eventually found — breathing but unresponsive — in deep snow about 200 meters from his vehicle.

Members of the rescue team carried the man out to the road where an ambulance was waiting and the man was taken by helicopter to a hospital in Grande Prairie, Alta.

As well, two ice climbers dodged death, along with torrents of snow and ice, while climbing a frozen waterfall in Yoho National Park in southeastern B.C.

A safety specialist at Banff National Park said the men, both in their 20s, were on a vertical portion of the waterfall, known as the Pilsner Pillar, near Field on Sunday.

Brian Webster said the lead climber looked up to see the avalanche break free above him.

As the lower climber ducked into a cave for protection, Webster said the man on the waterfall barely had time to set his ice axes and get a good grip before the debris cascaded over him.

Fortunately, the avalanche did not sweep the climber away, and Webster said he was able to make an anchor and descend from his perch when the danger had passed.

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